Pages

Tuesday, 2 July 2013

Flocking to Gloucester

Eighty-five years ago today, the trial of Beatrice Pace for the arsenic murder of her husband began at the Shire Hall in Gloucester.

The prosecution was led by the Solicitor-General, Sir Frank Boyd-Merriman, KC, and Beatrice was defended by Norman Birkett, KC. The presiding judge was Sir Thomas Gardner Horridge.

Alongside the tense legal duel that took place inside the courtroom, however, the case was notable for the near-carnival atmosphere on the streets outside.

The following passage from The Most Remarkable Woman in England gives an idea of the dramatic scenes on the streets of Gloucester 85 years ago today:

Norman Birkett, KC

One of [Norman] Birkett’s later biographers was a young reporter in Cardiff at the time, and he later commented on ‘the anguished apprehension in everyone’s mind’. ‘Day after day’, he recalled with some exaggeration, ‘the newspapers were full of little else’ but the case. Not only curious strangers flocked to Gloucester but also ‘villagers who have known the Pace family for many years’.

As the trial opened on Monday, 2 July, the Liverpool Echo reported, ‘what seemed to be the whole population of the little village of Fetter Hill today journeyed by motor omnibuses’ to view the trial. ‘What all these people hope to do or see’, remarked the Daily Express, ‘is doubtful. The public space in the court is small, and only those who have privilege tickets will be admitted to the other part.’ Fewer than one hundred public spaces were available. The police struggled to keep order as long queues – one each for women and men – formed on the first day of the trial at seven o’clock.

Mr. Justice Horridge

The court had been ‘inundated’ with applications for places in the public gallery, and among the successful applicants were ‘novelists and dramatists’, some of whom were ‘well-known’ (though, sadly, unnamed). Despite sporadically poor weather on the first day, crowds of as many as 2,000 people gathered, the majority of whom were women. A Daily Mail reporter stated: ‘Never have I seen so many women at a murder trial.’

On the second day, the crowds returned by bus and ‘obtained the foremost places in the separate queues of men and women outside the Shire Hall’. (‘Among the crowd that surged about the hall’, it was noted, ‘were a number of American women tourists, who, having
read of the case, halted in their motoring tour of the West Country to take part in the women’s demonstration.’ )

'A fascinating analysis of one woman's domestic disaster, the power of the press and public opinion. Loved it!' -- Jenni Murray, host of BBC Radio 4's "Woman's Hour"

'Sometimes life is better than fiction.' -- Tessa Hadley, in The Guardian

'Just for once, my crime book of the year isn’t a novel, but a factual account. ... A fascinating snapshot of interwar England, brilliantly brought to life.' -- Nicola Upson, Faber website

'I know that this book worked in a narrative sense because for most of the time I was reading it I felt a prickling at the back of my neck that I only get from a good crime book, whether true or fictional.' -- Kate Gardner, Nose in a Book

'...[A]n engaging and suggestive analysis of the relationship between crime, culture, and politics in a formative historical period.... [I]t is hard to imagine a more thorough account of the processes through which crime became news.' -- Matthew Houlbrook, Media History.

'This book will be an invaluable aid to those interested in the history of criminal justice and British society in the 1920s.' -- June Purvis, in the Times Higher Education

'A vivid portrayal not just of one woman's fate, but of a society in transition. Highly recommended!' -- Andrew Hammel, Amazon.co.uk review

Welcome!

Find The Most Remarkable Woman in England on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PaceCase

**

In May 1928, Beatrice Pace, the widow of a Forest of Dean quarryman and shepherd, was charged with her husband's arsenic murder. Her trial in Gloucester in July that year was one of the greatest legal sensations in early twentieth-century Britain, generating almost endless newspaper coverage and heated political debates about the state of the British justice system.

On this blog, I will be posting updates about my forthcoming book, The Most Remarkable Woman in England: Poison, Celebrity and the Trials of Beatrice Pace (Manchester University Press), the first book to deal comprehensively with what was known as the ‘Fetter Hill Mystery’ and the trial to which it led.

So, if you’re interested in real-life mysteries, the histories of the British police and criminal justice system or the culture of the 1920s, you’ve come to the right place!

Here, I’ll also present details about my research, give additional facts about the case and provide background material about crime, policing, justice and celebrity culture in the inter-war period.

This is also an opportunity for readers (or potential readers) to ask questions and comments about the case and my take on it. More information is available on the blog to the left or on the pages listed above.

If you have questions about the book or related issues, please feel free to contact me at jcarterwood@yahoo.com